Valve keeper inserter



Aug. 26, 1952 w KULp 2,608,116

VALVE KEEPER INSERTER Filed Feb. 17, 1950 INVENTOR l/ar'r 'y BY i /dalcmATTORNEYS Patented Aug. 26, 1952 VALVE KEEPER INSERTER Harry W. Kulp,Lancaster, Pa., assignor to K-D Manufacturing Company, a corporation ofPennsylvania Application February 17, 1950, Serial No. 144,127

This invention relates to valve keeper inserters foruse in inserting andoperatively positioning the usual removable split conical keepers aboutthe valve stems of internal combustion motors.

The difiiculties inherent in inserting and properly maintaining-suchkeepers in position about their respective valve stems whil'e loweringthe valve springs and retainers are Well known; Such difficulties haveincreased in recent typesof automotive motors, due to the increasinglyclose spacing between the valve sprin retainers and the tappets in thesemotors; This is particularly true in 1949 and 1950 Ford automobilemotors.

.Thejaws of many keeper inserters heretofore known and'used are so thickas to prevent their use in the limited space between the valve springretainers and tappets of such motors, and the construction of these jawsis such that they would not function reliably ifmade thin enough toadaptithem for such use." I I l .i'Withthis in mind; it' isva primar'yob-ject of the present invention to provide a keeper inserter having anovel jaw construction which permits the jaws to be of exceedingly thincross-section for use with such new types of motors without sacrificingstrength'and reliability .of operation.

It is'a further object to provide'a'jawconstrum tion having theforegoing attributes which renders the tool capable of supporting itselfand the valve keeper in operative :positiono-nth valve stem. leavingboth of the operators hands free to operate the valve spring lifter tolower the'spring and retainer. into operative-engagement with thekeeper. r 2

:A further important object is to, providesuch a tool in which eachf;the keeper positioning 'jaws employs .butza single resilient grippingelement arranged to rotate thekeeper an' arcuate socket into tangentialengagement with/a fixed gripping element, said resilient elementpressing against the keeper in adirection normal to-and hence notdirectly opposed by thetwisting force exerted by the weight of the toolwhen the latter;

said element responsive to downward insertion of the keepers in thetool; and, to provide a novel laminated jaw construction whereinsaidguide means and var'ious'of the jaw lparts or elements may be formedintegrally and] in 'pre'assembled relation in one Of: the stampedmetallamin'a tions, thus facilitat ing the production of such a tool andminimizing th cost thereof.

5 Claims. (01. 81' '5.1

In this application I show and describe only the preferred embodiment ofthe invention, simply by way of illustration of the practice thereof asby law required; I However I recognize that the invention is capable ofother and difi'erent embodiments and that the several details of thein-. vention may :be modified in various ways, all without departingfrom saidinvention. Accordingly, the drawings and description herein areto be considered as merely illustrative and not as exclusive. I Intheaccompanying drawings: Figure 1 represents a perspective view of a valvekeeper inserterin accordance with the invention, having a pair of usualkeepers operatively positioned and supported therein;

Figure 2, a fragmentary elevation showing the forward or jaw portions ofthe inserter tool together with the valve keepers positioned there-- in;v,

Figure 3, an enlarged perspective View of the jaw' portions of theinserter tool; Figure 4, an enlarged cross-section on the lin 4 -4 ofFigure 1, looking in the direction ofthe arrows; 1'- 1 Figure 5, anenlarged detail perspective view of the spring finger employed in thejaw cons'truce tion; and,

Figure 6, an enlarged detail perspective view showing a sheet metalstamping .or plate such as is employed in the jaw construction of thepreferred embodiment.

In the accompanyin drawings, the invention is exemplified in .a toolembodying rigidlevers .l and 2' which are medially pivotally connected;as at 3, for relative; pivotal movement ina lateral plane. The portionsof these levers disposed rearwardly of the pivot 3 are formedto functionas operating handles 4-4 for the tool, while G- -G through which thepivot 3 is disposed.

A spring 1 coiled around the pivot 3 with opposite ends pressingoutwardly against the respectivehandlejportions 44 exemplifies any.

ofljvarious means which. are employed for normally urgingthefjaws 55toward each other to maintain the'tool in operative position about avalve stem. or other work piece.

aeoaiie with relatively laterally opposed arcuate or substantiallysemi-cylindrical recesses or sockets 88, the axes of which extendperpendicularly to the plane of movement of the levers I and 2. It willbe apparent that the arcuate walls of these recesses 8, due to beingintegrally embodied in the respective rigid levers l andZ, arethemselves extremely rigid and inflexible to provide firm supportingsurfaces for engagement with usual split conical keepers K such as areused in the valve assemblies of late model automobile engines. Suchkeepers are usually providedwith internal annular ribs or projections Kadapted. for seating in an annular groove in a valve stem; as will bereadily apparent to those skilled in the art.

Each said jaw 5 of the tool is provided with 4 registering lateral ears|4|4 integral therewith and projecting from its medial portion to lieabove and below the cooperating jaw 5 and plate ll] of its respectivelever, a rivet I5 being passed through said ears I4l4 and theintervening lever and plate portions to firmly secure said leverinoperative position. Preferably the inner edge of each lever I and Iwill be cutaway adjacent the free end of its cooperating spring fingerI3, as at It, to avoid interference with the clamping or gripping actionof said finger.

The rear end portion of each such finger extends rearwardly from therivet I5, as at IT and I of the finger about the connection [5.

an arcuate keeper supporting ledge 9 projecting laterally inwardly atthe bottom of its respective recess 8 to support a keeper; K therein ata preribs K of both in registry with the groovedipor- 4 tion of thevalve stem and that the inner; edges of these ledges shall not projectinwardly beyond their respective keepers, so as to. interfere; with theapplication thereof to the valve stem;

At one end of the recess 8 of each jaw is dis-. posed afixedkeepergripping or positioning elej-J ment [2 which projectspartially across saidrecess and in opera-tionlabuts'against onecircumferential end edge of the keeper to limit the rotary movementthereof in the recess 8. While; suchv an. element It may, be. formedin-vvarious manners, I prefer. to form it as an; integral upwardly bentportion of. the aforementioned plate or. lamination l0, and to disposeit longi tudinally along the imier edge of its respective; jaw adjacentthe..forward end of the recess. 8

therein. I c c At the other end of the recess 8 in each. of: the; leversland 2 is. disposed a movable resilient gripping or positioning elementwhich may be in the form of a spring steel'fin'ger 13 extendinglongitudinally along the inner edge of andsecured to its respectivelever with its tree end projecting partially across the recess 8andresiliently tangentially. defiectible relativei tothe arcuate wall ofthe recess 8, and-to anykeeper K disposed therein. n 4 The function ofthis removable gripping element l3 of each jaw is to exert resilienttangential pressure againstthe circumferentially 'prm sented end'edge ofa keeper disposed inthe' re-- cess 8 and to rotate such keeperintofirmengagement with the fi'xedgripping element lz at theother end ofthe recess. Thus the keeper K. will be'firmly frictionallygripped in thejaw be tween the two grippi'ng elements l2 and 13, the keepers in bothjaws being accurately supported at thesame level by the ledges 9-'9}."Furthermore the keepers will be firmly maintained against'displacem entin their respective jaws ex cept in an upward direction, and this willbepermitted only upon the application of sufficient axial upward force toovercome the frictio'nal gripof thetwo elementsl'2and l3. jf

The spring finger 'l3l'sho'wn in" the preferred embodiment is providedwith relatively spaced Thus I provide a novel, simple and easily appliedelement [3 which will firmly and efliciently grip any keeper disposed inthe jaw with which it cooperates, and which has no laterally projectingportions which might obstruct the closing movement of the jaws 55-,about a valve stem.

It should be particularly noted that the two grippingor positioningelements 12-! of each jaw are insubstantial longitudinal alignment witheach other on diametrically oppositesides: of the respective recesses 8,sothat when keepersare operatively positioned in these, jaws any forcetending to tilt said keepers about their axes: in a plane longitudinallyof the tool willibe; per.- pendicular to the tangential gripping forceof eachof the elements I3, hence will not be exerted directlyontheseelements or release their respective-keepers. V

In order to prevent downward deflection of the free forward ends of thespring fingers or eleward insertionof keepers into theija'w recesses8'8', Iprovide guide plates or: elements I81l.8- respectively carried byeach jaw andvprojectingl laterally inwardly therefrom beneath the free;end portions of the spring fingers; It' will be seen thatthe-loweredgesof the spring fingers: Iii-may slidably. engagetliese respectiveplates l8 and be deflectedlaterally thereacross during insertion 01 thekeepers, while being positively maintained;

againstdownward deflection. w

Such a guideplate for. each j'aw may be con-- veniently embodied in alaterally projecting por'-' tion l8 of the metal plate Hi'of eachjaw.

Thus the use of such a metal plate l0 permitsthe formation of the jawsof the tool in are extremely simple and economical manner, sucha platebeing -easily produced by usual metal stamping operations and embodyingthe keeper supportingledges 8, fixed grippingelement I2 and'guide plateI8 of itsrespective jaw ln pre-" movable element I3, and-then rotatedagainst said element to defiectjsame' sufliciently to permit insertionof thekee'per into the's'ocke't or reg. cess18"withit s omercireumrerenua and edge. is" abutmentwitli' the fixed element 1'2,,whe'rupozi 1 ,1 the keeper is pressed a t/ iii as itsibottomi-abutsagainst the supporting ledge 9.' With the keeper thus inserted in thesocket of. its respective vjaw, thefresilie'nt element [3 willexerttangential pressure against same, tendingfto rotate and maintain ;itinfirm engagement with the fixed element i2, thus, .the keeper will'befirmly gripped between said elements l2 and i3.

In order to apply the keepers in operative position about a valve stem,as part of the operation of replacing the valve spring, the-spring israised and maintained in raised position on the valve stem by a usualvalve spring lifter. With. the spring in raised position, the jaws ofthe loaded inserter tool are spread in obvious manner and the keeperstherein are placed on opposite sides of the valve stem with their innerprojections'or ribs K in registry with the cooperating groove in thevalve stem. The jaws are then permitted'to close about the valve stem,applying the keepers K in proper position thereon. With the keepers thusapplied, it will be apparent that the handles 5-4 may be completelyreleased, and the tool will firmly and reliably support itself and thekeepers on the valve stem, leaving both of the operators hands free tothen operate the valve spring lifter to lower the spring and itscooperating washer into operative relation about the keepers.

Such lowering of the spring and washers about the keepers will of courseforcethe retainer tool downwardly about the valve stem and out ofengagement with the keepers in known manner, so that it may be removedat the operators convenience.

The self-supporting ability of the tool as above described arises fromthe particular arrangement of the tool so that the movable grippingelements i3-l3 press against their respective keepers in directionsnormal to the twisting force exerted by the weight of the tool when sameis applied to and projects radially from a valve stem. Thus suchtwisting force will not be exerted directly against the said elements isand in fact only a relatively small component of such force will beimparted to said fingers in a direction which will tend to reduce thegrip of the fingers on their respective keepers. The particularconstruction and arrangement of the spring steel fingers or elements 13also is of importance, inasmuch as such fingers are capable of exertinga strong gripping force on the keepers in the desired tangentialdirection relative to said keepers, but do not project laterally fromthe inner edges of the jaws to interfere with the closing movementthereof.

I claim:

1. A valve keeper inserter comprising a pair of levers and meansmedially connecting same for relative pivotal movement in a lateralplane, the rear ends of said levers comprising laterally opposedoperating handles and the forward ends thereof comprising relativelymovable jaw portions respectively formed with laterally-opposed arcuatekeeper recesses the axes of which extend perpendicularly to the movementof said levers, resilient means being associated with said levers forurging said jaw portions toward each other, flat sheet metal platessecured flush against the lower faces of the respective jaw portions anddefining arcuate keeper supporting ledges projecting radiallyconcentrically inwardly of said recesses, upwardly bent portions of saidrespective plates projectin longitudinally of the respective leverspartially across said recesses from the forward edges thereof to definefixed keeper positioning elements, lateral guide plates integral withsaid respective plates projecting toward each other from beneath the.opposed inner? edgessof said levers, rearwardly of .said recesses, in"come. 'bination with: longitudinally extending resilient spring fingerssecured against, the inner :edges .of the respective levers above saidguidejplates, .thefree end of each said fingerprojectingforwardly;

partially 1 across the recess of its respective jaw portion and beingdeflectible across the upper face of its respective guide platetangentially to..its respective recess, whereby said free end can exerta tangential force againsta keeper element disjposed in its;cooperatingrecess to rotate said keeperelement into firm engagement with itscooperatingfixed positioning element. 1 r

2. A valve keeper inserter comprising a pair of levers and meansmedially connecting same'for relative pivotal movement in a lateralplane, the rear ends of said levers comprisingoperating handles and theforwardends thereof comprising relatively movable jaw portionsrespectively formed with laterally opposed arcuate keeper recesses theaxes of which extend perpendicularly to the direction of relativemovement of said jaw portions, resilient means associated with saidlevers for urging said jaw portions toward each other, flat sheet metalplates secured flush against the lower faces of the respective jawportions and defining keeper supporting ledges projecting radiallyinwardly of said recesses, upwardly bent portions of said respectiveplates projecting longitudinally of the respective levers partiallyacross said recesses from the forward edges thereof to define fixedkeeper gripping elements, lateral guide plates integral with saidrespective plates projecting toward each other from beneath the adjacentinner edges of said levers rearwardly of said recesses, in combinationwith movable keeper gripping elements carried by the respective leversand projecting longitudinally thereof across said respective guideplates past the rear edges of the respective recesses, said movablegripping elements being deflectible on said guide plates tangentially totheir respective recesses.

S. A keeper inserter comprising a pair of levers medially pivotallyconnected for relative pivotal movement, and means associated with saidlevers for resiliently urging the forward ends thereof toward eachother, the rear ends of said levers comprising laterally opposedoperating handles and the forward ends thereof comprising relativelylaterally movable rigid jaws, said jaws being respectively formed withlaterally opposed arcuate keeper recesses having axes perpendicular tothe lateral movement of said jaws, each said jaw comprising a fixedkeeper gripping element and a longitudinally extending resilientlylaterally deflectible keeper gripping element secured againstlongitudinal movement and deflection on its respective jaws, saidelements being disposed in relative longitudinal alignment onsubstantially diametrically opposite sides of their cooperating recessesand projecting partially thereacross, in combination with guide platescarried by said respective jaws beneath said respective defiectiblekeeper gripping elements to prevent downward deflection of the latter.

l. A keeper inserter comprising relatively opposed rigid jaws and meanssupporting same for movement in a lateral plane relative to each other,said jaws being respectively formed with relatively laterally opposedarcuate keeper recesses the axes of which extend perpendicularly to therelative movement of said jaws, and means for normally maintaining saidjaws in relatively closed position, each said jaw comprising a fixedkeeperrgripping element and a longitudinally extending resilientlylaterally deflectible keeper gripping element secured againstlongitudinal movement and deflection on its respective jaw, saidelements being'in relative longitudinal alignmerit. on their respectivejaws.

5. In a keeper inserted comprising relatively laterally movable rigidjaws, each jaw being formed 'with an. arcuate keeper recess inoneedgethereof and having a fixed keeper gripping element projecting radiallypartially acrosssa'id recess from the forward end thereof, thecombination' with each jaw of a resilient gripping finger extendingalong said edge of the jaw-rear'- wardly of the recess and having a freeend projecting forwardly partially across said recess for resilientdeflection tangentially thereto. said gripping finger comprisingintegral relatively spaced lateral ears projecting therefromintermediately of its length, said ears being disposed 8 respectivelyabove and below said .jaw and pivot.- ally connected thereto, therearwardly' 7. projecting end of said finger abutting against the ad'-jacent edge of said Jaw to prevent pivoting 10! said finger about :theconnection between said ears and jaw. i. HARRY W. KULP.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,61%204 Susdorf V Nov. '1, 19271,775,022 Dodge Sept. 2, 1930 1,891,803 Falwell Dec. 20, 1932 1,909,175Hawkins -.v May 16, 1933

